University of Nigeria, Nsukka

About: University of Nigeria, Nsukka is a education organization based out in Nsukka, Nigeria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 10211 authors who have published 13685 publications receiving 138922 citations.

Nutritional status of congenital heart disease (CHD) patients: Burden and determinant of malnutrition at university of Nigeria teaching hospital Ituku - Ozalla, Enugu.

Abstract: Background and objectives Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are prone to malnutrition. This can have a significant effect on the outcome of surgery. Our objective was to determine the burden and determinant of malnutrition in children with several types of congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods This is a descriptive cross sectional study of children attending the outpatient clinic of UNTH, Ituku - Ozalla, Enugu State, over a six year period from March 2007 to April 2014. Data analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19 (Chicago IL). Results Forty thousand one hundred and twenty three (40,123) children attended the outpatient clinic during the study period. Of these, 50 had congenital heart disease, from which 46 were found to have various degree of malnutrition, giving a prevalence of 92% among children with congenital disease and 0.11% in the general population. Malnutrition showed significant correlation between age in years, age appropriate dietary adequacy and pulmonary hypertension. (r= 0.22, p = 0.01; r = 0.20, p = 0.02; r = 0.15, p = 0.01). Conclusion Children with CHD develop severe malnutrition and growth failure. The significant contributing factors are mean age at presentation and age appropriate dietary adequacy.

LaSota vaccination may not protect against the lesions of velogenic newcastle disease in chickens

Abstract: Two groups of six weeks old cockerels comprising 40 immunized and 40 non-immunized birds were inoculated intramuscularly with VGF-1, which is a local Nigerian strain of velogenic Newcastle disease virus (VNDV). Immunized birds did not show any clinical signs except significant loss (p < 0.05) in body weight on days 5 and 20 post inoculation (PI). But the non-immunized birds showed clinical signs of disease characterized by anorexia and drowsiness from day 2 PI. These were followed on day 3 PI by depression, diarrhoea, opisthotonus, weight loss (p < 0.05) and high mortalities (96.9%). Both the immunized and non-immunized groups showed severe atrophy of the bursa, spleen and thymus. Histopathological section of these lymphoid organs showed necrosis and depletion of lymphocytes. Both the gross and microscopic lesions were more severe in the non-immunized birds. Marked ballooning degeneration was observed in the bursal follicles of the non-immunized birds. This lesion has not been described earlier for any other disease and could be diagnostic for VND. Our results also showed that VND can cause marked atrophy of the lymphoid organs, which may lead to immunosupression without the characteristic signs of Newcastle disease (ND) in vaccinated chickens. This no doubt emphasizes the limitation of vaccination as a biosecurity measure in poultry industry.

Comparison of domestic violence against women in urban versus rural areas of southeast Nigeria.

Abstract: Background: The perception and prevalence of domestic violence (DV) in rural areas is poorly understood; the result is that most efforts at eradicating this harmful practice are concentrated in urban areas. The objective of the study was to compare the burden and perception of DV among women living in rural and urban Igbo communities of southeast Nigeria. Results: A total of 836 women who met the eligibility criteria participated in the survey. Of these 376 were from Okpanku a rural community while 460 were from Ogui Nike an urban community. The prevalence of DV among rural women was significantly higher than that among urban women (97% versus 81% P&0.001). In particular the prevalence of physical violence was significantly higher among rural women than among urban women (37.2% versus 23.5%; P=0.05). In contrast rural and urban women did not differ significantly in the proportions that had experienced psychological or sexual violence. The proportion of women who believed that DV was excusable was significantly higher among rural dwellers than among urban dwellers (58.5% versus 29.6%; P=0.03). Methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study of women residing in rural and urban communities in Enugu Nigeria who had gathered for an annual religious meeting from August 1–7 2011. Data analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics and was conducted with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 17.0 at a 95% level of confidence. Conclusion: The burden of DV against women may be higher in rural communities than in urban communities in southeast Nigeria. More rural women perceived DV as excusable; this finding suggests that factors that sustain DV could be strong in rural areas. A comprehensive program to curb DV in this area may need to significantly involve the rural areas.

Profile of neurological admissions at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu.

Abstract: Background: The burden of Neurological diseases may be on the increase especially in developing countries. Improved outcome in these settings may require appreciation of the spectrum of Neurological diseases and the impediments to their management. We aim to determine the profile of neurological admissions and the challenges of managing these diseases at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu South East Nigeria. Methods: Analysis of Neurological admissions into the medical wards of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu from January 2003 to December 2007. Results: Neurological admissions comprise about 14.8% of medical admissions. There were 640 (51%) males and 609 (49%) females. The spectrum of neurological diseases were stroke 64.9%, central nervous system infections (21.8% ), HIVrelated neurological diseases 3.5%, hypertensive encephalopathy (3.4%), dementia (3%), subarachnoid haemorrhage (2.2%), Guillian Barre syndrome (1.2%), Parkinson's disease (1.1%), myasthenia gravis (1.0%), motor neurone disease and peripheral neuropathy and accounted for 0.8% and 0.6% respectively. Overall, non infectious disease accounted for 78.2% of neurological admissions while infectious diseases accounted for 21.8%. Conclusion: A wide spectrum of neurological diseases occurs in our setting. The high incidence of CNS infections indicates that efforts should be geared towards preventive measures. A major challenge to be addressed in the management of neurological diseases in our setting is the lack of specialized facilities. Key words: Profile, neurological admissions, Enugu